Israeli media publishes video of soldiers allegedly raping Palestinian detainee
Israeli media has published footage purportedly showing the moment soldiers in an infamous detention facility raped a Palestinian detainee.
Late last month, nine Israeli soldiers were arrested for the alleged rape of a Palestinian detained in Sde Teiman, a facility in southern Israel's Negev desert.
Since Israel's war on Gaza began in October, many Palestinians detained by Israeli forces have said they were sexually abused by troops at Sde Teiman.
However, no one had been arrested for the abuse until 29 July, when military police raided the facility, clashed with the soldiers and took them into custody.
The incident created a backlash in Israel, with a far-right mob, that included an MP and minister, storming the detention centre and a military court in protest against the arrests.
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On Tuesday, Channel 12 released a video reputedly of the moment the Palestinian was sexually abused.
He was taken to a field hospital at Sde Teiman with “a ruptured bowel, a severe injury to his anus, lung damage and broken ribs", according to media reports.
The footage released by Channel 12, taken from evidence used in the investigation, shows detained Palestinians lying on the floor with their hands and eyes covered.
A group of reserve soldiers are then seen taking one of the detainees aside, then trying to hide their subsequent actions with riot shields.
The reservists are members of Force 100, a unit tasked with guarding the prisoners in Sde Teiman.
According to Channel 12, the suspects in the case were found to be lying on a polygraph test.
Two suspects were asked two identical questions: "Did you insert an object into the Palestinian's anus during a search? and "Are you hiding the identity of the person who inserted an object into the Palestinian's anus?"
The suspects answered in the negative to both questions, with the examiner finding them both to be lying.
"During the examination, an unnatural breathing pattern was observed, which continued despite my repeated comments," the examiner wrote, according to Channel 12.
"This pattern raises a very strong suspicion of deliberate attempts to disrupt the examination records."
About 4,000 Palestinians have been detained from Gaza in Israel since October. Most are detained and interrogated in the enclave, but many are brought to Sde Teiman, even if they are a non-combatant.
Torture, rape and murder have all been reported as rife at the facility, one of several facilities where Palestinians have been mistreated for decades.
On 15 July, Israel's High Court issued a conditional order seeking to close Sde Teiman in response to the reports of abuse there.
The court’s order seeks an explanation as to "why the Sde Teiman detention facility is not operated in accordance with the conditions set forth in the law governing internment of unlawful combatants”.
Investigations by Middle East Eye, CNN and the New York Times found widespread examples of abuse at the centre.
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